Welcome to my second project thread.http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=126450.0 – My first project.So the car... A 2007 Golf GTI. Bought September 2011, traded it in for my old 2004 TDI SE. I was aware, at the time, that it was due a service and some other scheduled work, however wasn’t ready for the massive list of work. Over the past year, I’ve had the following done (mostly via the Volkswagen dealer);

I’m not really in the market for a BCS system at this time, as it’ll cost me over double a Milltek system and I’ll see very little difference, in terms of performance gains, between the two systems. If money allowed I’d opt for a full turbo back BCS system of course.

To compliment my Bilstien B14 coilovers and further help stiffen up my chassis to help with all round control and performance. In an ideal world, I’d also fit polybushes everywhere along with stiffer engine mounts but it’s unlikely what with budget constraints in 2015. Most likely, my WALK will get fitted at the same time as these.

The dream list: LSD

I would love to fit an uprated limited slip differential to my gearbox to really help with, well, everything from power delivery to the wheels to the way the car feels in a straight line.

The very first modification I fitted was the K&N Filter. I managed to purchase the item from an eBay company for £15 less than most other online performance shops. So, out came the tools and off came the engine cover…

So after I took more screws off than I care to remember, plus a heat shield (held on with more screws), it looked like this;

And the new filter in place. It just looks cool;

I’ve mainly noticed that on the motorway, I now get 3-5 more MPG and the car revs about 200 RPM lower at 70 MPH. This modification will not be replaced unless I ever go to a K04 turbo and other upgrades associated.

Next on list is the R32 rear bumper conversion. This is a more involved stage and requires a fair few Volkswagen parts plus other modifications. No doubt most people reading this know that the exhaust sits differently on the R32 than it does on other Golfs. I contacted AMD via e-mail asking about fitting of the bumper and additional costs, and was amazed when one of the guys (Ben) replied within a few hours listing the Volkswagen part numbers needed to build the rear bumper assembly! A trip to my local Volkswagen to collect my uncle’s Passat, I spoke to the parts department regarding the parts needed, and got some prices (these are also the Volkswagen part numbers, as provided by AMD);

Naturally, some research was on the cards to discover whether there was a way to bring these prices down. I had seen many replica parts on eBay, but one night while trolling through I came across an eBay company;

They sell genuine Volkswagen and Audi parts, as well as a lot of other manufacturer parts, but importantly, they’re cheaper than the main dealer prices. I ordered the lower bumper part that was listed with the part number thinking it had to be too good to be true. But I ate my hat over this one, it turned up 48 hours later and on inspection was full, 100% genuine! Price… £156!

It was like opening up a big early birthday present;

And it already has the heat shield mounted in place;

So now I’m in the process of getting quotes from some reputable paint shops, so far I’m swinging towards one that AMD recommended me to (which happen to be a sponsor of their BTCC team). It will be a month or so before I can afford to get the bumper sprayed, also got to factor in the other parts that I need so there won’t be a great deal of process over the next few months. But as I get parts, I shall update here.

A small update and sadly no official photos at this time. Today I took a small afternoon drive to a fellow forum member's house to collect a complete set of Volkswagen Golf R front brakes, which came off a 2012 model that had covered 10,000 miles. These include the callipers, brake lines, discs, pads and dust shields; all this for a very reasonable £300! I just need to purchase some carrier bolts for the callipers and possibly, provided I can find spare budget, some stainless steel braided brake lines.

For the sake of pictures (because I like lots of pictures), here's a rough idea of what the finished product may look like;

As it’s been a month since I last put anything on here, I thought I would post a little update for those who may be following this. It’s been a mostly quiet month of looking around, seeking information and parts and generally saving money for the exhaust. My first achievement this month came in the form of the R32 rear bumper reflectors, managed to get both from an eBay auction for £8.50 which is half of what one would cost, so another good saving there. However, impatience took hold and I decided to just go ahead an order the lower bumper trim and tow eye cover direct from my local Volkswagen dealer. But despite not saving any money, I’m still happy to report I now have all the parts for the bumper assembly!

So here are some lovely images to enjoy;

This corner of my room is looking rather full;

So now the plan is to get the relevant parts colour coded to my car, and then save like a bastard to afford the new Milltek exhaust to be fitted. I’m also planning to have the Forge diverter valve fitted at the same time as it’ll be up on the ramp so logical to have it all done in one hit, although it’ll mean nearly £1,000 in work without even a ECU re-map! Most of this work will not be carried out by myself, I shall hand over my keys to a professional garage to get it done.

I’m also planning some workshop time with a friend who works as a mechanic, and the aim is to fit my front brakes. I’m delaying it slightly as I want to source some stainless steel brake lines to help improve the overall feel of the car. The system needs to be able to cope comfortably with the BHP and torque increase as I have plans to take this car to the track one day…

More updates next month hopefully! Stay tuned, and as always, drop me a message if you like what you see or have a suggestion for me, always happy to hear back from people out there.

The plan for the weekend was set, grab a jack and axle stand, my tool set and a cup of tea and get down to business installing this much needed part.

So, getting the diverter valve off… It’s actually a simple enough job, but I managed to drag it out to an hour because I didn’t realise I could have actually used my socket wrench more if I had changed where I was trying to turn it. But off it came none the less, and it was actually in good working order, no rips or damage and everything operated as it should.

Despite this, I went ahead and re-built the unit with my new DV+. Made sure to oil the bits as per the manual and gave the solenoid a bit of a clean-up too while I had it out, not that the pictures show my efforts.

There’s a noticeable difference to the way the engine pulls through the rev range now, combined with my air filter and some 99 octane fuel, the whole engine runs so smoothly now compared to a year ago when I first drove the car. Has more get-up-and-go to the engine now.

In other news, I’m picking up my R32 bumper from the paint shop tomorrow afternoon, so stay tuned for some pictures again soon!

Well, as promised although a few days later than I said, here's the finished, colour coded R32 bumper;

Next stop is AMD in Essex to get my new Miltek exhaust and bumper fitted. I may have them re-map it as they run an offer on re-maps bought with exhausts, but I've heard far too many good things about R-Tech to ignore a trip up the M1.

Penciled date for the trip to AMD is 15th November, just in time for my 25th birthday!

Further to my last post, I have also replaced the high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) cam follower as I read a lot about how this little £30 part can causes thousands of pounds worth of damage to the HPFP and cams if it wears through and fails. For anyone who has an engine with this part, make sure you learn about it, check it and replace it if necessary as the grief it'll save is well worth the 30 minutes labour on the driveway.

I found the genuine part on eBay for £32 delivered so bought it ready for the weekend just gone and made it a priority job. The Volkswagen part number is 06D 109 309 C for those who have a GTI like myself, can't be sure if this is the same for other VAG cars. I also used the DIY guide below, loaded it up on my tablet and it made the job as simple as it could be.

So to highlight how worn my actually was, here's a nice edited before and after. There's no messing with light levels or colours, that's how my phone captured the images from 2 different angles. As it shows, it's worn to the recommended point of being changed. At this point, my engine had done 83,000 miles so it was well overdue a refresh.

Next on the list will be an OEM PCV replacement to the latest revision (E) along with a final check and possible oil change before the re-map and new exhaust. There's also a chance I may have acquired another nice little treat for my Golf so stay tuned!